These letters from Henry "Hal" Middleton to his parents, Williams and Susan Middleton, cover the period November 1878-May 1879. They were written from Cambridge, England, where Middleton was studying mathematics with James Clerk Maxwell and trying to become an inventor. The subjects covered include Middleton's career plans, his unvarying lack of funds, and his deeply held belief that Edison was merely a tradesman with vast resources to command, whose talent and importance as an inventor were greatly exaggerated.